Metallica's 1991 album ranks as the band's fifth studio album.
It followed Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice for All. Those four earlier albums established Metallica as one of the leading thrash-metal bands of the 1980s.
The fifth album represented a noticeable shift. Its songs generally used slower tempos, simpler structures, and a more polished production than the band's previous work. The change made the music more accessible without removing its heavy character.
The album is often called The Black Album, but that nickname does not indicate a separate release or a different position in the discography. Its official title is simply Metallica. The record's success made it the band's mainstream breakthrough and helped bring heavy metal to a much wider international audience.